When the Darkness Strikes
by skorpian672
Summary: New year at Hogwarts. New problems for Harry. Voldemort has returned but Harry's being pulled in another direction and learns some things no one at Hogwarts ever knew before. Books 5,6 and 7 never happened. R&R please.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The shadows hid him as he watched, silently recording everything in his mind. He liked the darkness, it was safe. In light, you could see everything, but the sharpness of the angles and the boldness of the lines made it seem almost unreal. In the dark, everything was softer. There was little sight but the sounds were clear. You didn't have to see if you could listen. And he could listen. He could listen well. And actually hear.

The family were all together watching the black box that had moving pictures on it. He could hear laughter coming from inside it. But the one he wanted was not there. He turned his attention to the other boy. The lump of a human who whined and whinged about everything. Gosh, that made him ill. The large man heaved himself off the sofa and plodded out of the room. But they were not what he was waiting for.

A fluttering of wings made him look up sharply as a white shape swooped to a shadowy upstairs window. Partitions of light slipped through the glass as the blinds were opened. He heard a tiny scrape as the window unlocked and a pale hand reached out. The snowy owl perched on it and was drawn into the dark room. A face peered out into the gloomy night, the expression puzzled and wary. The blinds snapped shut and the window was black once again.

He shifted silently and settled down for another long night of waiting. Waiting and watching for the right time.

When the right time would come, he didn't know. But when it did, he would be ready.

And the boy would be his once more.

**So, what about it? Do you like? Does anyone want to know who 'He' is? I know I do (seriously, I have no idea who it is. I don't know anything that's going on yet. My fingers ran away and my brain's keeping secrets from me! Stupid body parts) **

**Anyways, leave a note on what you think and maybe we'll find out who the watcher and the watchee are (is that even a word?)**

**I don't want to sound needy but… Review! (please)**


	2. Chapter 1: Get Me Out Of Here

**Chapter 1**

"BOY!"

Harry looked up from his letter as Uncle Vernon appeared in the doorway, his chubby face purple and his moustache bristling.

"Problem?" he asked coolly.

"You bet there's a problem! When are you getting out of this house this summer? Usually you're out of here as quick as possible. Where are these irritating red-heads that poke their freckled noses in wherever they can when it comes to you?" Vernon huffed rudely. Harry felt a pressure building up in his chest.

"They seem to be detained at this precise moment in time," he said, eyes flashing. His uncle took a step back nervously. He had a new level of respect for his nephew. Well, not respect really but fear. When the boy had come home from _that place _for the summer there had been something very different about him.

"Yes, well…erm…very good. As long as you're having fun and not doing _You-Know-What_ in the house, then I'll just be over here, er, downstairs. Lovely weather, we're having don't you think? Yes, well, I'll be going then," he turned on his heel and stumbled out of Harry's room. Harry grinned maliciously, glad that his uncle was now afraid enough of him to at least _try_ and be polite. He went back to his letter.

_Harry, _it said.

_I know you must be going crazy stuck in that horrid place with your aunt and uncle but please, please, please trust me when I say that it won't be for much longer. We are currently having major discussions with Dumbledore about how best to get you out of there. Each little detail has to be ruthlessly examined because as you know, the danger is greater than ever before._

Oh yes, he knew. He was the one who saw Voldemort being resurrected. And with his own blood no less! He knew better than anyone how much trouble the wizarding _and _muggle worlds were in.

_Sirius wants to just go in and get you__ and of course Fred and George agree with him completely. They don't seem to understand that your house could be being watched very carefully by Death Eaters. Their argument is 'How could they know where Harry's house is? Surely if he knew, he would have attacked by now' which is true but unluckily, they know the general area._

That sounded like Sirius and the twins. Just rush in with no regard to their own personal safety. Actually, that sounded like him too. He carried on reading.

_Alastor is suggesting everything from Polyjuice potion to Disillusionment Charms. He would of __course; he is an auror, after all. Some of his ideas are good and we may use some aspects of them but unfortunately, he has started to exaggerate, even going as far as suggesting dressing up as muggle inspectors and whisking you away. As I'm sure you can figure out, we will not be using that idea!_

Harry snorted. Moody dressing up as an electrician? Yeah right.

_Hagrid is being enormously unhelpful and his only idea was that we ask Charlie Weasley if we can borrow a dragon. __Can you imagine the cover-up that would need? But we shouldn't be too surprised I suppose, this is Hagrid. I don't have to say that that idea was dismissed immediately._

Harry could imagine Hagrid saying that. He loved dragons and probably suggested Norbert for the job.

_The simplest way of fetching you would be either Floo Powder or Apparation. However, as you are in a muggle home, Floo Powder is practically impossible and Apparation will be difficult. One possibility is that you go somewhere secretly and we Apparate from there. But you will have to take your trunk so it will be hard._

Uncle Vernon would never let him wander around carrying his trunk. He couldn't carry it anyway, it was too heavy. How did that even make it as a possibility?

_As you can see, we are low on ideas. We are doing our best to get you out quickly whilst also keeping you safe._

_Everyone sends their love and we all hope that you are doing well._

_Molly says to wear clean socks everyday._

_Love_

_Remus Lupin_

A dejected Harry read through the letter once more and then filed it under the loose floorboard beneath his bed. He fell back against his pillow and stared at the ceiling. That was a letter he didn't want to get. He wanted to get out of here, not be told how hard it is to get him out! He wanted to be with his friends, figuring out what tricks they were going to pull next year, not worrying about when Voldemort was going to come after him! _But Harry, we don't always get what we want! _A voice taunted him from the back of his head. Shut up! He commanded it. He reached over and tuned off his lamp. He rolled onto his side and gazed through the tiny slits in his blind. No stars were out tonight. The sky was a dark, smoky blanket, hiding everything.

Outside, the shadows stood still, one patch darker than the rest.

**Soo, what do you think? I know it's short, I'm working on it. I have no idea how some people can update nearly every day with huge, long chapters that make the bar on the side of the screen practically a millimetre long. It's fantastic, sure, but it really makes me feel unworthy! *sniff* I'm gonna go cry now.**

**Please tell me what you think because it makes me excited and hyper when I go on my emails and see the bracket thingy's with 'Review Alert' in them which makes me write better because I have lots more ideas and I feel a lot more spontaneous.**

**Whew, that was a long sentence. Okay, shutting up so you can review :D**


	3. Chapter 2: Meeting with Them

**Chapter 2**

Albus Dumbledore looked over his desk at the two people opposite him. His long fingers interlocked as he studied them.

"You realise I can do nothing to help you gain his trust?" he asked them seriously, "He can be stubborn, and even if I could, I wouldn't force him." The pair glanced at each other.

"We understand," said the girl in a clear, lilting voice, "We do not plan on forcing him, it is not our way. We have noticed that he seems to help anyone and everyone he can. Hopefully, he will extend this favour to our people as well."

"How do you know that he's the one to help you?" inquired Dumbledore.

"Surely you know Albus," the man spoke up, raising an eyebrow, "You were told the answer near on fifteen years ago!" It was Dumbledore's turn to raise an eyebrow, though this time it was questioning.

"Sybill Trelawney spoke only half the prophecy, Lianas," said the girl, staring at a point over Dumbledore's shoulder.

"Ah," said Lianas in realisation. Dumbledore straightened.

"You know about the prophecy?" he asked in surprise. The girl snapped her gaze to him.

"But of course, Albus. You forget, our species lives longer than any other and can See many things. We have our own copy of the prophecy. The _full _prophecy, I might add. The other half that no human, not even yourself, has heard before."

"I see," replied Dumbledore, eyes deep in thought, "And what might this other half entail?" In answer, the girl flicked her hand. A clay bowl appeared containing a silvery mixture. Lianas stood and drew his wand. He put it to his temple and pulled out a long, glistening strand of memory. He flicked it into the pensieve and sat down again. The girl drew her own wand and tapped the bowl. A shady, insubstantial figure raised itself from its depths and gazed into the distance.

Dumbledore looked up at the grey face of the figure. He could see that it was a woman. A young woman with angular features, like a cat. As he stared, she opened her mouth.

"_The time will come…when one of our own shall betray us__…and join forces with the Dark Lord…our homes will be burnt…our people will suffer…but they will not give up hope…because with this suffering…shall come a human…a human with great power…power enough to defeat the Dark Lord…giving our people a chance to relive our lives…and ending the suffering…one of our own will bring._

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him…born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal…but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other…for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord…will be born as the seventh month dies."_ The woman dissipated back into the bowl, but Dumbledore's eyes never left her.

"Who was she?" he asked finally.

"A good and great friend," answered the girl, "our most gifted Seer, Allageda Wren."

"She is dead now," continued Lianas, "She made this prophecy just before Madam Trelawney made hers. She was with me at the time and unfortunately, the traitor heard the whole thing," he scowled.

"Dumbledore, the first half of the prophecy has already been made true," the girl stood and started pacing as she talked, "our villages have been razed to the ground, children have been taken, my people are living in fear. We have nothing left but our weakening magic and a tiny sliver of hope this prophecy brings that seems to give us the strength to carry on," she stopped pacing and looked at Dumbledore intently, "Please, give us this chance to save our people. You, of all humans, know our ways. It is not in our nature to ask for help but this is a time of insanity for everyone. We cannot fix this ourselves. You know the boy, he trusts you. Just let us take this chance for our people."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. He did know their ways, he knew them very well. He knew they were not comfortable asking for help and that this was a very special case. He knew how much faith they had in their prophecies and as this one involved their entire species, they were taking extreme measures.

"I am not someone who stands back whilst entire species are being wiped out," he said, "I hope you realise that."

"Albus, I never doubted you," she informed him, "this prophecy _will_ come true and I am prepared to do anything to make sure of that. Besides," she grinned, "I have had that speech prepared for a long time. It would have been a shame to miss the chance to say it."

"Still the joker, I see Arianna," Dumbledore shook his head. Arianna laughed lightly.

"The joker is growing up, Albus. Responsibility is a great burden that cannot be dropped and one that I never wanted. But alas," she said dramatically, "it has been forced upon me and I must bear it." The three laughed.

"Well then, we shall see you in September, Dumbledore," Lianas stood and stretched his back. He leaned across the oak desk and shook Dumbledore's hand. Arianna followed suit. They murmured something under their breaths and faded out, Arianna nodding as they went.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and put his chin in one hand. He didn't like people using the boy but knew that in the end, it wouldn't be up to him.

He sighed and got up. He walked over to where Falkes was perched and fed him a biscuit. Falkes looked at him with one beady, black eye.

"Don't look at me like that. They need him," Dumbledore stroked Falkes feathers as the phoenix gobbled up the last few crumbs.

The moon shone through Dumbledore's window, grabbing the old wizard's attention. He walked to the window and looked out over the grounds. The lake was smooth and peaceful except for the occasional ripple.

"They need him," he whispered.

**Guys, I'm gonna rant. I'm gonna be a hypocrite if I do but I'm gonna do it anyway. I want reviews. Well, that means nothing. I also want a car and a trip to Australia but for the moment, I'll stick with reviews. At the moment I have people story alerting and favouriting but no reviews**** well two :( It makes me sad. So come on guys, please review. For me. And for the characters guys. They're depressed at the moment.**

**Oh my god, have you ever realised how much you say 'at the moment'? ok question: what is another way of saying 'At the moment'?**

**Anyway, review (puppy dog eyes).**


	4. Chapter 3: Hmm Strange but OK!

**Chapter 3**

Harry rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the covers around him tightly. He wanted to get back to that dream where he felt so contented.

_In it, he was watching children playing in a play park. He felt happiness as he watched them chase after each other. He felt someone touch his hand and looked round. A woman was sitting next to him, smiling gently as she took his hand in hers. He smiled back feeling a big wave of love wash over him._

"_Daddy, Daddy," two small boys ran up to him and grabbed his free hand, "come and play!" They tugged him up and ran off again, laughing. He turned to the woman and kissed her hand. She giggled and blushed. He jogged over to where the boys were playing._

And then he woke up.

He wanted that happiness back. He wanted to get back to his dream family that loved him and that he could love in return.

His bedroom door slammed open. He sat up quickly to see Dudley in the doorway. His cousin stood in the doorway for a minute, staring at him suspiciously.

"What, Dudley," said Harry, annoyed.

"You need to get up," Dudley said, once again slamming the door as he left.

"Thanks," Harry muttered. He stretched and looked around. Hedwig was asleep with one head under her wing. He went over and stroked her. She stirred and looked at him. He stroked her beak and she nipped his finger.

He went over to his window and drew back the curtains. He looked out onto the street, eyes roaming over the pruned bushes. A flicker of movement caught his eye from the tree opposite his window. He snapped his gaze to the branches, nothing.

"Come on Harry, you're paranoid," he muttered to himself. He closed the curtains again.

After getting dressed he went downstairs only to find Aunt Petunia glaring at him.

"What did I do now?" he asked her, wearily. In answer, she shoved a hoe at him and pointed to the door. He heaved it onto his shoulder and plodded out.

After 10 minutes of gardening Harry gave up and leaned on his hoe. He thought about his friends, what were they doing while he was working? He resented them for being together whilst he was forced to work.

"AARGH!" he stabbed the hoe into the ground.

"Problem Harry?" a familiar voice enquired. Harry spun around to find the ice-blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore staring back at him.

"What are you doing here?" said Harry, too surprised to be polite. Dumbledore pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose before he spoke.

"I have come of get you out of here for the summer Harry, why else?" he smiled gently.

"Remus told me in his letter that they were still discussing different possibilities," said Harry slowly. His hand inched towards his wand, could this be an imposter?

"Relax Harry, I have merely come to take you to your friends as is what happens every summer. Now, let's go and pack up your things." Dumbledore led the way towards the house, Harry following behind, extremely confused.

"Professor, why have you come at such short notice?" Harry asked.

"Because Harry, I have reason to believe that someone may be watching this house and we need to get you safe. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision and therefore, no one knows about it," Dumbledore answered, entering the kitchen.

"But…"

"Who the bloody hell are you!" shrieked Aunt Petunia, grabbing a frying pan. Dumbledore looked at her calmly.

"I have come to take Harry away for this summer," he explained, "he will, of course, return again next year."

"You can keep him if you like," grumbled Aunt Petunia. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Shall we go and pack," he turned to Harry who nodded wordlessly and led the way up the stairs. They walked silently into his room. Dumbledore looked around interestedly while Harry grabbed some socks and threw them into his trunk.

"Oh, let me do that, Harry," said Dumbledore, with a flick of his wand. All of Harry's clothes picked themselves up off the floor and flew over to his trunk where they folded themselves up and piled themselves neatly. His books followed and when the trunk was full, the lid slammed down. Hedwig hooted indignantly as her cage, with her inside, soared through the air to land beside Harry. He picked it up and stroked her beak.

"Off we go then," beamed Dumbledore. He tapped Harry's trunk with his wand and it disappeared. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Hold tight!" and Harry felt an unpleasant sensation that was not so different from being squeezed through a tube of toothpaste. He shut his eyes and concentrated on not being sick. Suddenly, his feet hit something solid and he stumbled before opening his eyes. They were in a dark corridor. At the end was a wooden door which opened quickly, spilling out three wizards with their wands raised. They stopped when they saw who it was but still looked suspicious.

"What were the last words Evelyn Jones said to the two of us before she died in Serbia?" called one, advancing slowly.

"_When I come back, I expect to have a box of sugar quills on my doorstep_," recited Dumbledore calmly. The three men sighed in relief and lowered their wands.

"You scared us there, Albus," said the wizard who had questioned Dumbledore, "thought we were being invaded for a moment."

"Harry!" exclaimed a familiar voice. Harry looked up into the amber eyes of his former Defence against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin.

"Professor! What are you doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing," said Mr Weasley, wiping his brow.

"Well…"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt," interrupted the other man, "might I suggest we relocate for this particular conversation?" he raised his eyebrows at Dumbledore, who looked a little guilty but it passed so quickly, Kingsley wasn't sure he'd seen it or not. The 4 men and Harry walked towards the door.

"Um, professor? What exactly is this place?" Harry asked hesitantly. Mr Weasley pushed open the door and they trooped through. Harry saw Ron and Hermione making their way towards him through a big crowd of people.

"This, Harry, is the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

**Okay, so, I don't really like this chapter, starts off slow but yeah. Dumbledore's in trou-ble! Lol fun.**

**So yeah, really got nothing to say this time…um…Review! :D**


	5. Chapter 4: Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 4**

When Harry had been greeted by all his friends, (_Eee, Harry!!_ Hermione, gerroff! See, me and Ron shake hands like men! _Oh please._ Argh, Hermione, GET OFF!) and had been briefed on what the Order of the Phoenix was, (_It's a secret society like…like James Bond, that do missions behind the ministry's back. _Oh cool! _But we don't get to do anything. _Oh Wonderful!{sarcasm}) he was dragged up to his room by Hermione and the four youngest Weasley children.

"Come on Harry!"

"Hurry up!"

"I want to show you this book I've found. It's so interesting!"

"Last one up's Cornelius Fudge!"

"No, last one up's Kreacher's dishcloth!"

"Who's Kreacher?" puffed Harry, following them up the broad staircase.

"Good-for-nothing House Elf. Never does as he's told, grumpy, a complete imbecilic oaf…" came a familiar mumbling from behind a door. Harry skidded to a stop.

The heavy wood nearly burst off its hinges as Harry barrelled into the room, nearly hitting the black-haired man behind it. Harry threw his arms around his godfather tightly, nearly suffocating him.

"Erk!" croaked Sirius, winded.

"Finally seen the dark holes in your character, Sirius?" grinned Fred, strolling in behind them.

"Can we share the love?" smirked George, popping his head round the door, "Hey, Hermione, Ginny, Ronniekins, come here! Group Hug!" They all rushed into the room and bundled on top of the happy reunion. They crashed onto the floor, Sirius groaning at the bottom.

"My ribs, you've cracked my ribs, I'm dead, oh Merlin you've killed me," he moaned. They jumped off him quickly, worrying.

"Sirius, are you okay?" said Harry, scared that his godfather might actually be seriously hurt.

"Fine," Sirius croaked, heaving himself up from the floor, "Er, what are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but, how did you get here?"

"Dumbledore brought me," grinned Harry.

"Honestly, Black, we've been through all this already, keep up!" joked Fred. Sirius waved at him distractedly.

"So Dumbledore brought you here, completely ignoring all the plans that were already in place, all the plans that are being put in place and all the plans that are about to be put in place even though he did most of them himself?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," Harry nodded vigorously.

"Well in that case," Sirius broke into a smile, "Welcome to Grimmauld place. Home of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black! I am your host Sirius Black and I hope you enjoy your stay here. You can sleep in Weasley's room."

"Which one?" asked all four Weasley's. Sirius looked at them blankly.

"I dunno, whichever," he grumbled. The Weasley's cheered and ran out the room yelling, "Harry, come on or you'll be Snape's hairbrush!"

"Bye Sirius!" yelled Harry, elated to be back among his friends.

"Ta-ta, toodle-oo, don't go in my room, annoy the picture of my mother as much as possible and don't cross Molly 'cause she's scary when she's irritated," advised Sirius to an empty room.

Harry stayed in the same room as Ron for the rest of the summer and helped clean Grimmauld Place. Some of the stuff that was secreted away was amazing and dangerous as he found out one day near the end of the holidays.

"ARGH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Harry screamed, dancing around the room whilst trying to yank a snuffbox out of his hair. Fred and George were sunk against the wall, howling with laughter. Ron and Ginny were holding each other up, hysterical whilst Hermione was trying to get Harry to hold still.

"Harry, I can't get it off if…Harry, stop moving! HARRY!" she yelled desperately.

"IT'S PULLING MY HAIR OUT! GET IT OFF!"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Everyone abruptly stopped laughing and looked, wide-eyed, at Hermione. She blew her fringe out of her eyes and pocketed her wand. She marched over to Harry and tugged the box off his head. Then she went back to cleaning her part of the cabinet. Identical grins started spreading on Fred and George's faces. Soon, everyone was laughing again.

"Er, Mione, can you de-hex me please?" asked Harry carefully. Hermione flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"No, I don't think I will," she huffed, "You were disturbing me."

"Aw, come on, Hermione, it's not as if everyone else is working!"

"I don't care!"

"Hermione!" whined Harry.

"Oh, for the love of…here!" said Hermione, exasperated. She performed the counter-curse and Harry got up groaning, "Oh, don't be such a baby Harry!"

"Hermione, you're a very powerful witch and your spells _hurt_."

"Why aren't you all cleaning?" asked Molly Weasley, coming into the room. Her children all scooted up quickly and busied themselves with the cabinet. "That's better," she smiled.

A few days later, their school letters came. Hermione ripped hers open at once. Harry and Ron gave their letters a half-hearted glance and went back to their scrambled eggs. They heard a gasp.

"Something wrong Hermione?" asked Harry, looking up briefly. Hermione was holding a hand to her mouth, eyes shining.

"I…I got prefect!" she stammered, "I got PREFECT!" She flung her arms around her friend's necks and squeezed tightly.

"Urk, Mione, suffocating here!" choked Ron. She let go hurriedly. He reached for his own letter, "Anyway Mione, that's not really that much of…a…surprise?" He gazed blankly at his palm.

"That's not a prefect's badge is it Ron?" Hermione whispered. Ron didn't answer. Harry thought his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron, "What did I do to get this?"

"Oh Ron, you know you're a good student," said Hermione nervously.

"Bloody hell!" repeated Ron. The kitchen door burst open and the rest of the Weasley's came in.

"Ron, close your mouth, you're catching flies," Ginny rolled her eyes, "Why are you looking so dumb anyway?"

"Maybe he finally realised that he truly was supposed to be born as a microscopic bug," theorised George.

"Or that his pants are on fire," grinned Fred.

"WRONG!" Ron jumped out of his chair, elated, "I am a prefect and can now take points off of you!"

"You're in our house Ronniekins, bad idea," advised George. Ron's face fell.

"Nice try though. Better luck next time," Fred ruffled Ron's hair. A high-pitched squealing filled the room. Everyone grimaced and covered their ears.

"Oh, Ronnie!" Molly Weasley, hugged her son tightly, "I'm so _proud_ of you! Oh, you're going to have to have a reward! We'll go out to Diagon Alley to get everyone's things this afternoon and you can choose something then. Oh, oh, oh, I'm all of a dither!" She ran out of the kitchen.

"Blimey," said Fred, gazing after his mother, "she forgot about breakfast!"

**And there you have it. Another chapter, short, sweet and with a bit of Fred humor at the end (I hope).**

**So anyways, ho hee ho hum, REVIEW! (please?)**


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